AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland made a surprise appearance at Friday night’s DEFY Here And Now event, which took place at the Washington Hall in Seattle, WA.
Strickland told the fans DEFY is special, as it was a big part of his journey in becoming the first-ever black AEW World Champion, after defeating Samoa Joe at Dynasty back on April 21 at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri.
He also talked about how he and WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes wrestled in the main event of the first ever DEFY show. Strickland then gave a big shout-out to Rhodes and also praised the DEFY roster.
Strickland, who is from near-by Tacoma, did a free meet-and-greet after the show. He is also a three-time DEFY World Champion and a DEFY Tag Team Champion.
X user @GIFSkullX attended the event live, posted a clip of what he said was an “incredible promo” by the AEW World Champion.
You can watch the clip below:
X user @allynicole456, who also attended in person, posted a clip from the show, which can be seen below: